27 September 2007

SS. Cosmas and Damian, Martyrs

SS. Cosmas and Damian, two brothers, physicians, born at Egæa (Arabia), were beheaded after many cruel tortures in Cilicia, under Diocletian, by order of the prefect Lysias in 283.

Tonight at the Kartause the ITI hosted a lecture by Dr. Markus Riedenauer entitled "Orexis: The Natural Basis of Aristotelian Ethics. All students are required to attend such lectures and so I had the opportunity to expand my knowledge of Aristotelian philosophy (such as it is). The main subject of the lecture was the proper place of the passions (emotions) in human virtue. The passions must be disciplined and integrated into right reason. Clearly it is our responsibility to train our passions to react spontaneously in accordance with reason. To quote Aristotle:

"Virtue has the quality of hitting the mean ... to feel these feelings at the right time, on the right occasion, towards the right people, for the right purpose and in the right manner, it is to feel the best amount of them, which is the mean amount" (Nichomachean Ethics VI, 2).

I put her hair in pigtails because I don't want to cut her bangs, and it is a good way to keep her hair out of her eyes. And I think it's cute. And she likes to have bows in her hair. If there are not bows in her hair and she finds one, she tries to put it there by herself. She also tries to put her bows on her stuffed animals.